Standard
A lawyer and law firm must treat all persons with dignity and respect and in a manner consistent with the spirit and the letter of human rights law, the Code of Professional Conduct, and relevant health and safety and accessibility laws.
A law firm must have proportionate and principled written policies with regards to such obligations.1
When adopting policies the lawyer or law firm shall consider all relevant factors to that lawyer or law firm including:
(a) the development of fair and unbiased criteria in the recruitment, selection, and retention of clerks, lawyers, and staff;
(b) management policies appropriate for the lawyer or law firm including anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, parental leave, accommodations for persons with disabilities, cultural competence;
(c) a meaningful process to enforce such policies including regular review of existing policies and the creation of new policies as needed, and;2
(d) reference to protection against reprisal(s).3
Commentary
A lawyer should foster a professional environment that is respectful, accessible, and inclusive, and should strive to recognize their own internal biases and take particular care to avoid engaging in practices that would reinforce those biases, when offering services to the public and when organizing their workplace. (s. 6.3 of the NSBS Code of Professional Conduct)
Footnotes
1 Human Rights Act, RSNS 1989, c 214, s. 3.; Employment Equity Act, SC 1995, c 44.; Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, Code of Professional Conduct, Halifax: Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, 2012, sections 6.3 and 3.1; consider element #9 in the workbook for Self-Assessing your Law Firm (MSELP) – Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (nsbs.org) ; Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSNS 1996, c 7, s. 45, 46; Accessibility Act, RSNS 2017, c 2.
2 Shah v. George Brown College, 2009 HRTO 920 (CanLII) [Ont. Human Rights Tribunal]
3 Code of Professional Conduct, Halifax: Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, 2012, rule 6.3-4.
Additional Resources
Templates
- Model Policy: Workplace Equality (July 2007) Law Society of British Columbia
- Equity and Diversity – The Law Society of Manitoba
- Model Policies & Guides – Lawyer | Law Society of Ontario (lso.ca)
Documents
Ruck, Douglas, KC (October 29, 2024) Regaining Trust: Systemic Discrimination in Nova Scotia’s Legal Community (The Ruck Report)
Articling Survey 2024 Results | Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
Racial Equity Survey Report released | Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
Abella, Rosalie Silberman (October 1984) Report of the Commission on Equality in Employment
Babiuk, Buchert, Chiekwe & Hong (November 2014) “Cultural Competency and Diversity in the Nova Scotia Legal Profession: Final Summary Report“
Nova Scotia Barristers Society – Gender Equity Committee Final Report – May, 2022.
Dumke, Kathryn and Kevin Hong (July 2015) Equity and Diversity in Legal Practice.
National – Improving inclusion for gender-diverse people (nationalmagazine.ca)
Lawyers Discuss LGBT Barriers | News | The Harvard Crimson (thecrimson.com)
BLAC Report on Education: Redressing Inequity – Empowering Black Learners (1994) Black Learners Advisory Committee (BLAC)
Working Together For Change: Strategies To Address Issues Of Systemic Racism In The Legal Professions (lawsocietyontario.azureedge.net)
Equality and Diversity (November 2014) Solicitors Regulation Authority
SRA | Encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion | Solicitors Regulation Authority
Equity & Access Resources – Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (nsbs.org)
Microsoft Word – CLA Womens Study February 2016 Final.docx (criminallawyers.ca)
2009-final-report-of-the-indigenous-bar-consultation_1.pdf (lawsocietyontario.azureedge.net)
Fostering Employment Equity and Diversity in the Nova Scotia Legal Profession (August 2000) Employment Equity Guidelines Committee: Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
Guidelines_GenderVariantInclusion.pdf (nsbs.org)
Lawyers with Disabilities: Overcoming Barriers to Equality (2004) Disability Research Working Group, Law Society of British Columbia
Accommodation Works! (chrc-ccdp.gc.ca)
Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., Prosecution: digest of finding and recommendations Nova Scotia. Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., Prosecution, December 1989
Touchstones for Change: Equality, Diversity and Accountability (1993) Task Force on Gender Equality in the Legal Profession: Canadian Bar Association
Case Law
Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia, [1989] 1 SCR 143, 1989 CanLII 2 (SCC)
British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 SCR 3
Cardinal v. Douglas College and another, 2013 BCHRT 64 (CanLII)
E.J. v. Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, 2014 ONSC 3277 (CanLII)
Fraser v. Canada (Attorney General), 2020 SCC 28
Gichuru v. The Law Society of British Columbia (No. 9), 2011 BCHRT 185 (CanLII)
Johal v. Dhesi, 2012 BCSC 550 (CanLII)
Law Society of Upper Canada v. Terence John Robinson, 2013 ONLSAP 18 (CanLII)
McCormick v. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, 2014 SCC 39
Moore v. British Columbia (Education), [2012] 3 SCR 360, 2012 SCC 61 (CanLII)
R. v. Armitage, 2015 ONCJ 64 (CanLII)
R. v. Fraser, 2011 NSCA 70 (CanLII)
R. v. Gladue, [1999] 1 SCR 688, 1999 CanLII 679 (SCC)
R. v. Kapp, [2008] 2 SCR 483, 2008 SCC 41 (CanLII)
R. v. Kennedy, 2013 ONSC 6419 (CanLII)
R. v. S. (R.D.), [1997] 3 SCR 484, 1997 CanLII 324 (SCC)
R. v. Spence, [2005] 3 SCR 458, 2005 SCC 71 (CanLII)
R. v. Twoyoungmen, 1998 ABPC 135 (CanLII)
R. v. “X”, 2014 NSPC 95 (CanLII)
Withler v. Canada (Attorney General), 2011 SCC 12
Revised by Council on June 12, 2026